Scared Yet?
by Sonic Jackson
Summary: Michael Jackson has officaly joined the Brawl roster along with Shaquille O'neal and Afro Thunder. However, with some of the brawlers disrepecting him and an old enemy who is more ruthless than ever, the Mastero might come into play very soon...
1. Arrival

Sonic the Hedgehog was riding his 'Blue Star' jet board around the Smash mansion courtyard, doing flips and grabs in the air. He was all set to launch off another trick when Master Hand called to him.

"Sonic, come into the mansion, we're going to have a meeting."

Sonic got off his board and dashed into the Manson until he reached the meeting room. All the other brawlers were already there.

"Now that everyone is here," Master Hand began, "I have some news for all of you: there are going to be four new brawlers in the tournament."

Master hand waited for everyone's reaction, but none came. Eventually, Snake raised his hand.

"Yes, Snake?"

"Who are the new brawlers?" Snake asked.

"Me and Crazy aren't going to tell you their names yet, but let's just say Sonic knows them well." With that, Master Hand left the room, leaving some to stare at the cobalt hedgehog.

_I wonder what he meant by that,_ Sonic thought

* * *

Meanwhile, a limo pulled into Nintendo City, carrying two people inside. the first to step out the limo was NBA All-Star and League MVP Shaquille O'Neal, fresh out of the NBA Finals, Wearing a sleeveless shirt and a white casual shirt over it. Then the second man, wearing a black and white tuxedo and a black fedora, stepped out. He was two feet and three inches shorter than O'Neal, had long wavy black hair, and a pale complexion, although he was was of African descent.

Michael Jackson had arrived.

"You okay Mike?" Shaq asked. "You look nervous."

"I'm fine," he replied, "just hungry. Let's see if we can find a restaurant."

A minute later, they found themselves waiting in line at a restaurant.

"Man, we're never gonna eat at this rate," Shaq half-grunted.

"Yeah i know," Michael said. "Why'd we have to pick the restaurant with the longest line?" he barley finished speaking when a waiter tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hm?"

"Are you Michael Jackson?" the waiter asked.

"Speaking."

"Come with me, and bring him too," he said gesturing to Shaq. both men followed the waiter. They eventualy came to a booth already had two people; Michael and Shaq reconized the two men in the booth.

"Afro Thunder, it's been years man!" Michael exclaimed.

"G.C., you haven't changed after all these years," Shaq said

"It's what i do," G.C. said.

"Why are you guys here anyways?" Afro asked.

"I could ask you guys too," Shaq said.

Afro pulled out an folded card and showed it to him.

"You've been invited to the Brawl too?"

"Yeah. Just got here too. And i'm guessing you and MJ were too."

"You guessed right," Michael said. "Wasn't easy for me to come though, Blanket was literally screaming to come with me; i had to sneak out the house to leave.'

"Did he find out?"

"Yeah, Janet called and told me that he was crying 'cause i snuck off. I couldn't take the chance of waiting 'till he woke up; he probably would've stowed away in my luggage."

Everyone laughed. The waiter who took Michael and Shaq to their table, came back.

"Ready to order, gentlemen?"

* * *

"Man, that was some good food!"

"Best i ever had."

"Finger lickin' good!"

"Better than McDonald's!"

Everyone made off for the Smash mansion, Michael talking about how excited he was about entering the Brawl.

"This is only a once in a lifetime chance, but i can't belive it happend to us."

"I still don't know why they picked Shaq," G.C. said.

"You think i can't hold my own?" Shaq snapped.

G.C. raised a hand up. "What i mean is, Brawlers on the current roster are either veterans or they were picked because of their success in the Console War or in general gaming. I can see why the picked us, but you..."

"Shaq-Fu wasn't_ that _bad!"

"Yes it was," Michael said. "It's still so bad that there's a site that pays money to people so they can burn the cartridges in to ashes."

Both Afro and G.C. laughed at Shaq until he picked them up by their shirts.

"That's it! If y'all gonna keep laughing, i'll-"

"Hey there's the mansion."

* * *

Sonic was trying to escape both Samus and Zelda, who were trying to force Sonic to tell them the names of the mystery Brawlers.

"Sonic, tell us now, and we won't hurt you!" Zelda said

"I already told you i don't know!"

Sonic bolted to his room and locked his door before anyone could get in. He sighed, this had been happening scince this morning, and hadn't stopped yet. He couldn't figure out why Master Hand pegged him on the spot like that; and he knew that if one of his freinds from Mobius was invited, they'd be here by now.

Sonic was still trying to figure this out when there was a knock on his door.

"Who is it?" Sonic called.

"It's M.H., it's almost time for us to meet our mystery Brawlers."

"How long do i have to wait?" Sonic asked.

"At least ten minutes."

"Alright, i'll be down then."

* * *

"You're lying man!"

"No I ain't lying, i knocked him out in two rounds."

G.C., Michael, Afro and Shaq were already at the meeting room wating for the other brawlers. Crazy Hand was already there with them; and was now arguing with MJ that the didn't beat Shaquille to face Afro Thunder.

"Yes i did, i even got the tape of the bout!" Michael said.

"I would _love_ to see this" Crazy said.

"What's going on in here?" a voice said. "MJ, is that you?"

"Sonic? It's been ages! How's it goin'?" Shaq asked.

"When Master Hand said the new brawlers would be pepole i knew, i didn't expect them to be you guys! when'd you get here?"

"Me and Michael got here an half hour ago. G.C. and Afro were in the city before us." Shaq explained. "We just came to the mansion a few minutes ago."

while Sonic and Shaq were chatting it up, Michael was humming a melody to a song he had recorded, but never released. He was so caught up humming he didn't notice some of the other smashers were entering the room.


	2. Why You Wanna Trip On Me?

When Michael finally looked up, he saw a sea of surprised faces in front of him. He was taken back slightly at first, then kicked himself mentaly for not paying attention.

"This is a joke right?" Ike said. "Were stuck with Pedo Pan? you can't be serious."

Michael, failing to hide his anger at Ike's comment, started seeing blood red.

"Leave the poor guy alone," Mario said in the older man's defense. "It's guys like you that ruined his life in the first place!"

"Well excuse me for pointing out the truth," Ike responded snobbishly.

"You hardly know nothing about the man! the only things you know about him is that he was a singer and that he was accused of pedophilia, which wasn't true. you only said what you said to his face because you think he won't do anything to you!"

"He won't because all he is a 50 year old woman." Ike sent a sneer towards the King of Pop, who was starting to reach the boiling point. Michael left the room so he wouldn't do something he'd regret

"That's enough, Ike!" Master hand cut in. "You know virtualy nothing about this man other than what you heard. so please keep your own thoughts to yourself."

"Yes, M.H." Ike mutterd

"And since you're not able to keep your mouth shut, you'll be facing Michael later today." Master Hand added, which got him some surprised looks from the brawlers.

"You must be nuts to think i'll fight him! That's a major mismatch putting him with me!"

"There's alot more to Michael Jackson than meets the eye when it comes to fighting," Luigi said.

"What do you mean by that?" the blue haired warrior asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Luigi answerd. and he did not say anything else after that.

Ike glared at him, but said nothing.

* * *

Michael, who was outside the meeting room was trying to calm himself down. His anger had reached a point he hadn't reached for years.

_"when the time comes for me to face him, i'm gonna hit him where it hurts" _He thought.

"Michael?"

Michael turned around to see Samus without her armor on.

"You're Samus, right?" Michael asked.

"Good guess. I'm sorry about what Ike said to you."

"Don't be, it wasn't your problem. I should thank Mario for standing up for me like that."

"He'd appreciate it. By the way, Master Hand said your match will be in an hour."

"Okay, thanks Samus."

"No problem, Michael." she replied, walking back into the room.

* * *

Later on, after the new brawlers given their rooms, they mingled with the vetrans in the lounge, which wasn't easy for Michael to do because they bombarded him with a thousand and one questions like: "What's was it like being a child star?" "Who's you're rival?" And the most asked question of the day: "How were you able to join the brawl?" after Michael answerd all of the questions, everybody treated him like one of their own.

Except, of course, for Ike.

Ike, in his eyes, couldn't see why anyone would want to associate with Michael. He especialy hated it when Peach fawned over him. He was thinking of a way to embarras Michael in the worst way possible, when an idea hit him.

"Hey Michael, come here."

Michael walked over to Ike with a less than happy expression on his face. "What?" he asked somberly.

"I'm sorry for what i said to you earlier. I'd realy like to get to know you better."

Michael looked at him suspicously, but shuged it off.

"Alright, i accept your apology," he replied.

"Good. By the way, there's a new joke going around. Wanna hear it?"

"Go ahead."

"What did the five fingers say to the face?"

"Wha-?"

_"SLAP!"_

Michael recoiled and cringed from the impact, while Ike lauged his heart out.

"What the hell?" Afro & G.C. said at the same time.

"I know he did not just slap MJ," Shaq said "You do _not _slap a man."

"It's still funny!" Ike said, laughing.

"Why are you treating him this way?" Sonic asked. "He never did anything to you."

"Shut up, Sonic. It's not like he's your friend."

"Yes he is. I've known him for more than seventeen years!"

"Makes no diffrence. He's just a weak little-" Ike was cut off by the impact of Michael's hand hitting his cheek. the next thing anybody saw was Michael slamming down Ike's face on a table.

Ike, curled in a ball was groaning from the impact of Michael's sudden atack. all of the brawlers in the room looked at the African-American man in shock, although Sonic, Afro, Shaq and G.C. wern't surprised by this.

"If you think that hurt, just wait till later," Michael said to Ike and walked out of the lounge.


	3. Cheater Part 1

The time had come for the fight between Michael and Ike. All of the veterans thought Ike would destroy Michael with just one swing of his sword, while Sonic was optimistic about Michael's odds of winning. And of course, there was the controversy of Master Hand mismatching Michael with Ike. Some of Michael's fans even boycotted the match. Eventually, Master hand defused the controversy, and Michael was cleared to fight the blue-haired swordsman.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Michael Buffer, the announcer, shouted into the microphone, "Are you ready?"

The crowd went wild with cheering.

"Then, Let's Get Ready To Rumble!"

The crowd was pumped up for the fight. Many (mostly haters) came to see the demise of the King of Pop, while others came with high hopes spilling overboard, that Michael would win. The betting booths were lined up with with people; most pf which were betting on Ike. the odds for Michael winning, according to the spread, was 450 to 1, which, if the person who betted on him won, they would get 3.5 million dollars.

The match finally started. Michael entered first, jumping out of a blast of fireworks. The arena went crazy. Some couldn't belive it was realy him.

Ike entered next, without the flair he usually enters with. He was focused on the fight and nothing else. Ike banged his fists together in anticipation.

"Are you warriors ready?" the announcer asked. Both men nodded.

"3...2...1...GO!"

Michael moved backwards with Ike in hot pursuit. Ike lunged at the smaller man with his sword; but Michael leaned to his right to avoid the blow. he then threw two quick left jabs that connected on the swordsman's face. Ike then tried to slash Michael again, only to have him roll out of the way. Then Michael surprised Ike by kicking him square in the chest, following up with two more jabs, and a heavy right hook. Gradualy, Ike's face started swelling and bleeding.

Ike was wearing himself out trying to get Michael. The more he kept slashing at him, the more Michael would counter. He hadn't expected Michael to dominate like this. Not only was it embarissing, but it could damage his reputation if he lost.

And this is where Ike decided to cheat.


	4. Cheater Part 2

Michael kept punishing Ike, throwing hooks, uppercuts, and haymakers. He went for another right jab, but Ike, anticipating the jab, blocked it with his left arm and countered with a straight right punch. Michael staggered from the force of the blow, but did not fall down. when Michael brought his head back up, Ike swung his head down, clashing into the older man's face.

The end result was a three-inch gash under Michael's eye.

Before Michael could react, Ike kicked him in the stomach, then grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground. While Michael struggled to compose himself, Ike slipped on a pair of brass knuckles, and waited for Michael to get up. As soon as he got his balance, Ike charged at him and threw a stiff hook. It hit nothing but air as Michael leaned out of the way. Michael threw a stiff jab and moved backwards. Ike charged after him, threw some punches that didn't land on his target and tried to maneuver Michael off the platform. Michael kept ducking all of the swordsman's punches, and countered when Ike left himself open.

But his biggest challenge was just ahead. A Smash orb floated above him., and before he could reach and get it, Ike suckered punched him in the gut.

"Uugghhh..." Michael groaned as he fell to his knees. Ike got hold of the orb's power and awakened it. Michael was sill on his knees when Ike shouted at him.

"Now pedophile, taste my Final Smash! Great Ather!" Ike charged at the dark haired man.

The crowd held their breath. They knew that if Ike connected, Michael would lose, and he'd never live it down. he appeared to be too weak to move out of the way, so the crowd waited for what they thought was the inevitable.

But the King of Pop wasn't going out like that, no he wasn't

Michael dug his feet into the platform, and braced himself. As soon as Ike got close enough, Michael grabbed the blade of his sword and held on. Ike and everyone in the arena was shocked. Michael Jackson had stopped Ike's Final Smash!

But there was more than what met the eye. Michael sucked all of Ike's power from him. during this, Michael's hands started glowing. He let go of the sword and smirked at a shocked Ike.

"This ain't no time to be surprised Ike," Michael chuckled. "It's time to **_RUMBLE!" _**

Michael charged at Ike, throwing a right hook that stunned the blue-haired warrior, following up with a stinging combo that swelled up his face. Ike started protecting his face with his sword, leaving his body exposed. Michael moved in closer, throwing powerful jabs and hooks at his gut. Ike cringed. He never expected such speed and strength from Michael. The next punch Michael threw not only knocked out Ike, but off the platform. the swordsman was sent spinning upwards in midair and landed back on the platform with a loud _"Thud!" _Ike laid limp on the floor.

"Get up and fight, sucker!" Michael yelled.

Ike didn't get up. Master Hand, who was watching the match from the mansion, was amazed at how easily Michael neutralized Ike. Ike was still unconsius from the punch, and Michael was still screaming at him to "Get up and fight!" Master Hand moved away from the screen and went to the transporter.

* * *

Later on, the Smashers were celebrating Michael's victory. Michael had won by way of knocout, and Ike was taken to the hospital. Ike begrudgingly came, only because Master Hand made it mandatory for everyone to show up. Michael was agian bombarded with thousands of questions, some of witch he manged to get past without actualy answering. Eventualy, Michael managed to slip outside in the courtyard. Afro Thunder followed him.

"Mike, where you goin' at?" he asked. "The party's inside!"

"Just getting some fresh air," Michael replied. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay," Afro said as he walked back inside.

Michael sat on a lawn chair and loosened his muscles. he looked back on his rehersals for This Is It, and the fifty shows for the event. _Not one of my shows or rehersals,_ he thought, _can compare to my first day here. I think i'm going to like it here..._

"Yo, MJ!"

Michael looked up and saw Sonic the Hedgehog in the air above him... In what seemed to be a colision course for his lap! Michael rolled of the chair just before Sonic landed.

"Aw, come on Mike, you know i'd never hurt you."

"I don't want to take any chances."

"You're just a wimp." Sonic joked

"Hey, this 'wimp' beat Ike one on one, thank you very much."

"True. I didn't think you still had it in ya."

"What? You didn't think I could still fight?"

"No i mean that glow that was on you're hands. The 'RUMBLE' glow. you didn't take any of those Rumble Mass pills did you?"

"Hell no!" Michael exclaimed.

"Mike..."

"I'm serious. I didn't take any in 2000, and i won the 'Ready 2 Rumble' tournament. I swear I never touched that stuff."

Sonic looked in Michael's eyes. "I've known you for seventeen years, and I can tell when you're lying or not. And right now..."

Michael was anticipating the "Guilty" verdict.

"...You're telling the truth."

Michael sighed a breath of relief, thankful that his long time freind didn't think he was lying. he relaxed his body agian as he looked at the mansion.

"Come on, let's get back inside before they start looking for us."

Michael and Sonic walked back to the mansion doors. When they got inside, Michael heard a voice behind him.

"Enjoy your victory for what it's worth, Wacko Jacko."

Michael turned around to see Ike sneering him. Michael growled with anger. He could have snapped Ike in two and ended it there, but forced himself not to retaliate.

Unknown to most of the Smashers, Michael had a alter ego only known as "The Maestro." The Mastero was pretty much the same as the normal Michael Jackson, but with a marked diffrence. The Mastero had supernatual powers, however he never used them on innocent people or his freinds. The only time the Mastero becomes a threat is when Michael's temper gets provoked to a point that he transforms into the Mastero and tourtures the provoker, and any one who tries to help him or her. Also, the Mastero has a group of ghosts that he calls his "family." The ghosts have their own free will, but will only obey either Michael or the Mastero. And like their master, they will not attack or harm anyone or anything unless commanded or provoked.

And the last thing Michael wanted was to unleash him agian.


	5. Serious Effect

Afro Thunder slammed the snooze button on his alarm clock. It was Saturday, two days after "The Brawl of the Decade." Afro didn't get to fight on Thursday or Friday, and neither did Shaq or his cousin G.C. Thunder. Afro had planned to do what he usually done before he was invited to the tournament: Train, eat, and sleep in on the weekend.

Today, however, he got up out of bed, put on fresh clothes, and walked downstairs to the cafeteria. his jaw dropped when he saw the lineup.

_"Augh!" _he thought. _"It'll be lunch time by the time i get to the food!" _His thoughts were interuppted by Shaq calling to him.

"Yo, Afro! we saved a plate for ya over here!"

Afro got out of the line and went to his freinds' table.

"Thank God," he said. "I thought i was gonna go hungry."

Michael laughed. "No worries man. I figured you'd be up anyways with all that noise last night..."

"Yeah, i know," Shaq interjected. "Whoever was doing all that thumping made sure everyone could hear it."

"You tellin' me?" G.C. Thunder said. "Me and Afro were right next to where it was comming from. And i swore i heard Luigi's voice in there."

"Luigi? I doubt it, 'cause if it was him, he was probably getting more play than Call of Duty 6 last night."

G.C. snickered. "Yeah, but with who? That's the question."

"Defenitly not Peach, that's for sure." Afro said. "and i don't think he's _that _good to get Samus or Zelda to have sex with him."

Shaq snorted. "I didn't know you and Luigi had so much in common, Afro." Michael and G.C. howled with laughter.

"Aw, shadup! It's not like any of you got any for the past few years. Shoot, G.C's still a virgin"

Michael laughed so hard that he almost choked.

_"Hahahahaha! hahaha...haha...ha...cough cough...phew."_

"Are you done?" Shaq asked.

"Yeah. Just had to get it out of my system."

* * *

A couple of hours later, everyone (minus Michael and Afro Thunder) was in the lounge lying around. One of the normal side effects of having nothing to do on Saturday.

"Man, i forgot how boring the weekends are if there's nothing to do," G.C. said.

"Well, when you're stuck in a huge mansion, but got nothing to do, that makes it worse," Shaq said. "Sometimes it gets so bad that you'd go to serious extremes to stay amused."

G.C. looked at him confused. "Like what?"

"Uh... I'd rather not say."

"Come on, it can't be that bad."

"It's not kid-friendly" Shaq pointed at Ness and Popo.

"Ah."

Just then, Michael and Afro walked into the lounge, carrying what looked like a giant clipboard.

"What's with the giant clipboard?" G.C. asked

"Master Hand said most of the brawlers are going into the city, so the rookies have to pair up with some of the veterans." Afro answerd.

"What? I'm a grown man! I can get around on my own!"

"M.H. said the rookies have to pair up so they don't get lost in the city. Same goes for the kids." Michael said, pointing at Ness and Popo.

"Awwww!" the boys whined in unison. "Come on Michael!"

"Sorry, but that's the Hand's rule."

"Who's _not _going?" Shaq asked.

Afro thought for a minute. "Um, Sonic and...Zelda, I think. that's it. Me and Michael already got paired up, so it's just you two left."

"With who?" Shaq asked.

"I got Link, and Afro's got Peach," Michael said.

"Do I hear a touch of jealousy in your voice, Michael?" Shaq teased.

"Oh, shut up King Kong."

* * *

Eventually, the Smashers made it out the mansion in one piece. In the mansion's lounge, princess Zelda was reading a book. she was halfway through it's second chapter when she heard footsteps approach her. she turned to see Sonic the Hedgehog, who looked like he'd hit the floor any minute. Zelda suppressed a laugh.

"What's up with you?" she asked.

"Lack o' sleep," Sonic slurred. "Whoever made all that noise last night, made sure i didn't get any sleep."

"Strange, I heard that noise too."

"_Everyone _heard it," Sonic replied tiredly, while turning on his iPod. "Even Gannondorf couldn't take it."

Zelda suppressed another chuckle. "Well, I've known you for a few years. And one thing i know is that you get pretty cranky when you're lacking sleep."

Sonic smirked. "Not as cranky as Gannondorf."

"True," and both freinds started laughing. Sonic selected a song on his Ipod and a New Jack Swing-like beat flowed from his headphones.

"What's that you're listening to?" Zelda asked.

"It's an-"

"I know what an Ipod is, Sonic. But i'm talking about the song that you're listening to."

Sonic started to blush. "Um, well... I have songs on here that remind me of my freinds. and some of them I don't really show to pepole."

"Like who?" Zelda pressed for more information.

"Um, you," Sonic said quickly before turning away.

"Why are you embarrassed to show me?" She implored.

"The... song's a-about y-you," sonic stammerd.

"Me?" Zelda was surprised. What was it about that made it so embarrassed for him to show her?

"Yeah..."

"Can I listen to it?"

Sonic was about to protest, but Zelda gave him puppy dog eyes, making her impossible to resist.

"Okay, fine..." Sonic sighed a defeated sigh, and restarted the song. Zelda tok the Ipod and listened to it.

_

* * *

_

_You gotta get back every rhyme_

_Gonna jump back_

_She won't get it_

_I got a feeling about giving you, I_

_And I'm so damn_

_So damn glad about it_

_I got a feeling_

_That you're jumpin' around_

_Gonna get back_

_She won't get it_

_I got a feelin' _

_like jumpin' around_

_And i'm so damn_

_So damn glad about it_

_Serious Effect on me baby_

_Serious Effect on_

_Serious Effect on me baby_

_Serious Effect on_

_Serious Effect baby, baby_

_Serious Effect on_

_Serious Effect baby, baby_

_Serious_

_And I'm so damn glad about it..._

* * *

Zelda put down the headphones and looked down at Sonic, who was looking guiltly at the floor. Zelda had gotten the message through just one verse of the song. She didn't know that she meant that much to Sonic.

He loved her.

"Sonic, why didn't you tell me?" She asked.

"I thought you'd reject me because i'm a hedgehog." he half-whispered. "I loved you for a while now, but i couldn't bring myself to tell you."

Sonic finaly finally looked at Zelda. He had expected her to be disgusted, but to his surprise, she was smiling. Then without warning, she grabbed him and hugged him tightly.

"Oh Sonic, I love you too." she said happily. "And don't worry, I'm not dating Link"

Sonic was stunned. "You're not?

"No, he has a girlfreind. Her name is Saria." Zelda let go of Sonic and looked at him. "You really thought I would reject you because of your species?"

"Well, Yeah. It would be interspecies dating, not to mention slight beastality. pepole would be turned off." he said looking down agian

"Sonic, you always told me not to let what other pepole think about me get to me. Shouldn't you do the same?"

Sonic looked back up. He knew she was right, even though she was using his words.

"You're right. As long as I have you, we don't have to worry about nothing."

Zelda smiled. "Now _that's _the Sonic i know!"

She leaned in to kiss him, but at that moment, his phone rang.

"Damn," Sonic muttered. "Hello? Mario, calm down! what's wrong? _He was what? _Oh my God, i'll be right there!"

"What's wrong, Sonic?" Zelda asked worried.

"It's Michael, he's been shot!"

* * *

I know, I'm notorious for cliffs ;)

Sorry for the long wait, but i was working on a Space Channel 5 story called Michael Jackson: Moonwalker (And there's a reason why the title is the way it is.) and i just got done the first chapter. because of this, i have 3 stories i'm trying to maintain.

This Chapter also goes out to Sonic Phantom, who invented the SonicXZelda paring.

I'm extremly sorry if this chapter seems like a bit of a filler.

Criticism welcome, but no flames.


	6. At The Hospital

"Is he on his way?"

"Yup, he should-a be here any-"

_Ka-Boom!_

"-Second..."

"Sorry, Mario."

Sonic had nearly broke the light barrier on his way to the hospital. Zelda didn't make it any easier, screaming the entire time and almost choking him to death.

"What happened in the city?" Zelda asked, brushing herself off.

"Ike got in an argument with Michael," Marth explained. "Things started to get physical, so Shaq and Bowser had to step in and end it."

"Wait. It took both Bowser and Shaq to stop them?" Sonic inquired, having been untangled from Mario.

"Those two were going _at _it. But that's besides the point. As soon as the fight ended, a shot came out of nowhere. It sounded like it came from a sniper rifle."

"Where did it hit him?"

"The first bullet got him in the shoulder. there was two more shots after that; and both of them hit him in the chest."

"Good God," Sonic muttered. "They know who did it?"

"Nope. The guy who did it must have covered up his tracks pretty good, 'cause the police said they didn't find any weapons or anything."

"Damn. What's MJ's condition?"

"Funny you should ask that. When the doctors removed the bullets from his chest, his body semi-healed it's self."

Sonic gave the swordsman a confused look. "Semi-healed?"

"His body healed up like-a nothing happened, but he still has the bullet wounds."

"Where is he now?"

"He's-a on the 3rd floor," Mario said.

"Well then, what're we staying here for? Let's go see Michael!" Sonic started to run towards the hospital entrance, but was stopped by Mario.

"No can do, Sonic. The press got wind of this as soon as he was shot, so now they're trying to get entrance to the hospital."

"Fuckin' tabloids," Marth said, shaking his head. "They're the reason his life is the way it is now."

"What's Master Hand going to do about the press?" Zelda asked.

"He's-a having a press conference now," Mario said

* * *

" ...I assure you that Michael will be at full health very soon."

The tabloids got wind of assassination attempt on Michael almost as soon as it happened. Reporters from all over the world came to Smash City to get info on Michael's condition and stories on his near-death experience. Even Martin Bashir showed his ugly mug. Master hand wasn't perepared for the large ammount of reporters, and hastily put together a press conference to answer their questions.

"Mr. Hand," a young reporter asked. "Is it true that one of your own Brawlers shot the King of Pop?"

If Master Hand had a face, it probably would have looked shocked beyond belief. "That's out of the question!" He belowed. "_All _of my Brawlers were with Michael when he got shot." That didn't appease the reporters, and so, adding more fuel to the fire, more reporters kept asking who shot Michael.

_This is gonna be a loooooong night, _Master Hand thought.

* * *

Michael's hospital room, coincidentally, was two floors above the ruckus the media was causing. He could hear all of their questions, and he just shook his head. He spotted Sonic and Zelda outside, but Mario stopped them from getting in.

_Probably for the best, _he thought. _The press would've gotten in, if he did. _

Michael tried to sit up, but winced from the pain his wounds gave him. He was still mulling over what happend. Ike had challenged him over a _hot dog, _and startded hitting him when he said he wouldn't give it to him. After the fight was stopped, he was shot, but by _who?_ That was the question.

Michael looked out his window. It was a beautiful starry night, but not one of them had called out to him. Michael knew that if he didn't completely heal, he'd be stuck in the hospital for weeks. He was still cursing the hands of fate, when a flash of silver flew into his window...


	7. Tale of the Moonwalker

Master Hand was still trying to defuse the situation with the press, to almost no avail. The Smashers, not being able to do much but watch, stood a small distance away from the mob of reporters. Master Hand was starting to get frustrated.

"I will say this again: Michael Jackson will be in full health by the end of this week. Any rumors saying otherwise or who shot him, are completely untrue. And contrary to other reports, Michael is _not _in critical condition, He's..."

Master Hand trailed off when he heard the hospital doors open. He turned around, and saw Michael walking out of the hospital in the same clothes he was shot in.

Master Hand was at a loss of words. Except for his clothes, Michael looked like he was never shot at all. He even looked a bit younger.

"Mr. Jackson," a reporter shouted. "How is it that your clothes have bullet holes in them, but you look like you were never shot?"

"I heal quick," Michael answered. "No stitches or nothing." Michael lifted up his shirt to prove his point.

The press still wasn't convinced, and again started bombarding Michael and Master Hand with questions.

_This is gonna be a looooong night, _Michael thought.

* * *

The following Monday, security was beefed up twice as much than it originally was. And on that same Monday, There were about 2 more assassination attempts on Michael's life. The first two happened during a team battle. Michael and G.C. Thunder were battling Marth and Samus. In the climax of the battle, a laser sight targeted Michael's head. Marth saw it, and tried to warn him, but Michael was too busy fighting Samus to hear Marth scream at him. Multiple shots were fired...and ricochet off his head, thanks, in part, to the gold armor he was wearing.

After ten minutes, the Smashers were given the all-clear, and continued battling. G.C. and Marth got KO'ed when Samus tried to use her blaster on Michael, only to have him roll out of the way. Samus was on the verge of getting KO'ed, until Michael slippped. Samus used this blunder to her advantage, punching him square in the face, and breaking his helmet in half. As if on cue, a spider-shaped helicopter flew over the platform.

More shots were fired at Michael and Samus, who jumped off the platform to avoid getting shot at agian.

An hour later, Michael was in the garden, surrounded by a dozen of the mansion's security guards. Everything was going fine, until one of the gaurds tried to attack Michael. Michael immediately moved out of the way, while the guards stopped the would-be assassin.

Later, while Master Hand interrogated the assassin, The Smashers were talking about the situation.

"I may not like the guy," Ike said. "But who would want to kill him? I know people hate him, but isn't this a bit much?"

"I agree," Snake said. "I don't think anybody can hate him _that _much."

"Don't be too sure about that," Afro Thunder interjected. "I heard a rumor about some guy..."

"You mean Frankie LeDieo?" Snake asked.

"You've heard about him?"

"Yeah, my pepole had a profile on him. He was a notorious drug lord. He even had his own state-of-the-art lab. we should've commandered it... Anyways, he wanted to take over the world, and as a start, he was going to get every kid in North America hooked on drugs. To finalize it, he built a ray cannon. Around the time he was about to execute the plan, Michael, and 3 kids he adopted, stumbled unto the lab. They escaped, and hid in Neverland Ranch. For obvious reasons, LeDieo found him, and tried to gun Michael down."

Ike was listening with interest. "What happened after that?"

"Here's the weird part: Michael was shot at point-blank range, but he somehow escaped."

"Are you serious?" Ike and Afro Thunder said at the same time.

"Dead serious," Snake answered. "Michael escaped, and ran down the alleyways of Los Angelas. LeDieo finally cornerd him when he hit a dead end. And again, Michael somehow escaped. He and his kids made their way down to an abandoned club called 'Club 30's and-"

"When Michael stepped into the club, it rejuvenated."

The three men turned around to see Samus (in her power suit).

"H-hey, Samus," Afro studderd. "Um, how long have you been there?"

"Long enough to hear Snake's story. The only problem with it is that he's missing some facts."

"Oh, Yeah?" Snake asked. "How much do you even know?"

"Well, I know that he has a special kind of power that he calls his 'Dance Magic,' and when it's used, it can force anyone to dance with him."

"And that's it?"

"Nope. If the pereson or persons who dance with Michael cant keep up with him before the dance ends, it'll kill them."

Ike gulped. "Does he use this ability often...?"

"No. Not in matches anyway. It's too lethal."

Ike and Snake sighed a breath of relief, while Afro, however, looked unfazed. "I already knew about the magic," he said. "It's the only thing keeping the Mastero from consuming him."

"Mastero?" Samus asked.

Afro realized what he just said, and coverd his mouth. _Mike's gonna skin me alive, _he thought. _Or worse, cut off my afro!_

his thoughts were intterupted by Master Hand's voice over the intercom_. "All house members except Michael Jackson and Sonic the Hedgehog please report to the meeting room at once."_

Afro started walking as soon as the announcement was finished. Samus walked past him, but gave him a look that said their disscussion wasn't over. He returned it wtih a glare of his own

Evreyone made their way to the meeting room. Zelda was the first one there, but was stopped by Master Hand.

"Zelda, I need you to check on both Michael and Sonic," he said. "I haven't seen either of them since this morning, and I'm starting to get worried."

"Is that why you said everybody except them come down here?" She asked.

"Yes it was. Now go check on them before anyone gets suspicous."

* * *

Meanwhile, Michael and Sonic were in their room when the annoucement went off. Michael had been pacing his room for hours, while Sonic, to no succsess, was trying to get him to sit down.

"Why would anyone want to shoot me?" he kept saying over and over. "I never did anything to deserve getting shot!"

"Well, if the jury had found you guilty in 2005, you would've gotten the shooting squad," Sonic said.

Michael stopped pacing. "That's a good point..." he turned to the cobalt hedgehog "But what I really wanna know is who's the guy that shot me?"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in..." Sonic said.

Zelda walked in the room.

"Hey Zelda," Michael mumbled. "What're you doin' here? I thought every one was supposed to be in the meeting room."

"I was, but Master Hand told me to check on you two," she replied. "How have you guys been all day?"

"Not too good," Sonic said. "After the incident with the guard, MJ locked himself up in here. I came in to keep him company while the assassin was being interrogated."

Zelda looked at Michael. He looked like he was about to collaspe any second. She sighed. There wasn't much she could do for him, nor her boyfriend.

"Everything will be okay, Michael," she reassured him. "Master Hand is going to make sure the person responible for the attacks are brought to justice. you have nothing to worry about."

"Except me," a voice said.

Michael and Sonic froze on the spot, And Zelda was perpelxed. The voice was Michael's, but he never moved his lips the entire time she was there-

"Behind you," the voice said agian.

Zelda turned around, only to see a second Michael Jackson. Zelda looked back at the Michael on the bed, and the Michael in front of her now, trying to figure out if this was a trick being played on her.

"Don't worry, the Michael on the bed is the real one. I'm just a 'friend' of his."

"Who are you?" Zelda asked.

"They call me the Mastero."

* * *

The Mastero finally makes his debut! Let's hope Michael finds a way out of this one.

I've noticed that the setting of the story takes place a couple of months before the summer break of the tournament (before Shaq got bumped from the NBA Playoffs.) so i'll keep it like it is. I'll also have to fix the 'NBA Finals' line in chapter 1

And for the pepole who have no idea why MJ or Shaq is in here, or don't know who Afro & G.C. Thunder are, here's some fun facts:

**Michael Jackson**: The king of Pop originaly debuted with the hit Genesis and arcade game, Moonwalker, and was one of the ten composers that created the music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. All in all, he appeared in four games in his lifetime, plus an upcomming fifth game for the PS3. He also appears as a Easter Egg boxer in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2.

**Shaquille O'Neal**: Shaq-Fu. Enough said. Like MJ, he also appears as a hidden character in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 2.

**Afro Thunder**: The most well-known character in the Ready 2 Rumble Boxing series, and the most popular. He appeared in the first 2 Ready 2 Rumble games, but didn't make the cut for Revloution (Thank God).

**G.C. Thunder**: The cousin of the previously mentioned character, G.C. didn't appear until Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 2. He shares a freindly rivalry with Afro Thunder.


	8. Author's Note

**I shouldn't even be doing this... I'm probably gonna get in trouble for this, but I don't have much of a choice.**

**In recent months, I've been suffering from severe writers block for "_Scared Yet?" _Though during that time my story has crossed over (with success) between the Super Smash Bros. and Michael Jackson fanbases, despite the lack of updates.**

**Recently, I re-read the story, and I realized how much better the story could be than it is now. So I decided to re-write this story, with a different theme to the story, though I'm keeping the presence of the Maestro in this story.**

**So, if any of my subscribers read this, I'm sorry for leaving you hanging, but i promise this re-write will make up for it.**

**The first chapter of the new story, _"We Be Brawlin'" _should be out within a few weeks.**

**Also be on the lookout for a certain Call of Duty character in this story.**


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